Tonight (Friday) is the first round of the 2009 Wokingham Battle of the Bands.

“Pop Rock with an 80s” twist, that’s what Streetfight Silence bring to the stage. They have already played in front of crowds of more than 3,000, recorded two EPs and even being asked to play with Justin Hawkins, former frontman of The Darkness.

Bassist Chris explained: “We applied for this battle of the bands type gig in London that he was putting on.“We actually got chosen to play but we were only told the day before the concert, so there was no way of getting there, which was a shame. “It’s actually a less cool story than it sounds - it was good he listened to our stuff though.”

I was drawn to 80s rock because I loved the fact that it was ugly men trying to look like girls and subsequently being really popular with girls. Something about that appealed to me.

When I was about five I wanted to be a girl. I used to try and call myself Rose at school, but it didn't take off.

I was a rubbish teenager. I didn't apply myself at school and I wasn't very popular with girls. I was just really into my music which basically meant wearing very, very tight jeans. The same as now. I'm pretty much the same thirtysomething as I was a 17-year-old.